


353 Letters

by snowzone5



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: AU, Angst, Crying, F/M, Mileven, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27980739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowzone5/pseuds/snowzone5
Summary: El has closed the gate. She stops back at Mike's to shower and get some sleep. She find letters that Mike has written to her.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 23
Kudos: 24





	1. The First Letter

“You did good kid, you did so good.” 

Hopper hugged Eleven like his life depended on it. She was so small and fragile, yet she’d probably saved the entire world from unknown horrors. She was his own life line, she’d saved him from spiralling into an empty pit of himself. She had given him hope and a reason just to  _ be. _

“I love you kid.”

“I love you too… dad.” Hopper's tears ran into his beard. 

He quickly wiped his sleeve across eyes. “Cabin is busy and probably a mess, I can’t take you there. I’m not taking you back to Joyce’s, um, Mrs. Byers.”

“Take me to Mike’s. I want to have a shower. I don’t want him to see me like this… again. I’ll have a nap in the blanket fort. I’m tired.”

Hopper didn’t ask who all had been sleeping in the blanket fort, and right now he didn’t really care. He was glad to have her back and that she had at least another place she felt safe at. “I’ll bring Mike to you ok?”

She looked at him with those big eyes, smiled, and nodded.

  
  


XXXXX

  
  


El looked into the mirror in the bathroom. She felt fresh, her garish makeup was gone, the hair gel, or whatever it was, all washed out of her hair, it was back to the curly mop it had grown into.

_ I hope Mike still thinks I’m pretty… I’m so tired.  _

She put on a long t-shirt. Long for her. It was the same one Mike had first given her to wear, she also found what looked like the same pair of track pants.

She went over to the blank fort. The sleeping back was neatly made, there were extra blankets. A tear rolled down her cheek. 

_ He was expecting me to come back. He never gave up on me. _

She got into the sleeping back, feeling very content. She heard a crinkling, it seemed to be coming from underneath her lumpy pillow.

She got up on one elbow, lifted up the pillow and found the reason for it’s lumpyness. There were dozens of pieces of paper under it. She picked one up, at the top of said  _ Day 272.  _ She picked up another, it said  _ Day 11 _ . 

_ He wrote those? _ She gathered them all up and put them in order. Only one of them didn’t have a Day number on it. She read that one first.

  
  


XXXXX

  
  


_ Dear El. _

_ You saved my life again… and you disappeared. I’m hoping that you are just stuck in The Upside Down (I  _ hate _ that place) and not… you know… gone.  _

_ I  _ thought _ I saw you outside while those government assholes were questioning me. That made me think you were… I don’t know… out there someplace. _

_ I took a chance and called you on the Supercomm, I didn’t really expect to hear back from you. I decided I’m going to call you every night  _ and  _ write a letter to you. Sometimes I don’t express my feelings very well, I’m a better writer than I am a speaker, so… _

_ I’m glad you were grossed out when I kissed you. You looked so pretty, I really couldn’t help myself, even with your short hair you look pretty El. Don’t let anyone tell you you don’t. I wanted to tell you that I liked you. That I  _ really _ liked you and wanted to take you to the Snowball. _

El held the letter to her heart and smiled, “I like you too Mike, and I have hair now.” She said aloud and continued reading.

_ I want to say how sorry I am. I yelled at you twice. I  _ know  _ it wasn’t your fault that you couldn’t find Will here. I know that. I knew it then too, but I yelled at you. I will tell you that I’m sorry every single night and in every single letter. I’m sorry El. You were just trying to help and… I guess I just thought the worst about Will and took it out on you. If you ever get to read this, I just wanted you to know. I’ll never be mad at you again. _

“I know MIke. I know.”

_ Life is funny sometimes. All kinds of weird things had to happen at the lab, and bad things to you, but it all came down to you finding me. It’s not the normal way of getting a girlfriend, I mean, I know you aren’t my girlfriend, El, I mean it’s not the normal way you get friends. _

_ I miss you already, El. It’s only been a few hours. I miss your questions. The way you smile at me. Your… really pretty eyes.  _

El could see the tear stain right after the word “eyes”.

“I missed you too Mike.” El decided right then, she would read every single of Mike’s letters. She kept going.

_ Sorry El. There was something in my eye there. It’s gone now. Wow. I didn’t think writing this letter would be so hard. It makes me feel better though. Telling you stuff I couldn’t tell you face to face. Your eyes are so intense that… well, it’s just hard to speak, you know? _

_ I don’t want to sound like a total wasteoid either. I just had a thought there. What if she really gets to read this? Well, I don’t care. That would be you are back, and that’s what I want more than anything. More than anything El. You have to know that. I’d take a punch in the face from Troy every single day, if I thought I could see you again. Don’t tell that mouthbreather I said that! _

_ Ok, I guess I should end this now. We are all sad that you are… not here. I’m just going to come right out and say it. I’ll probably cry myself to sleep tonight. Wimpy right? _

_ I miss you lots El, _

_ Your friend Mike. _

The tears were flowing freely down El’s cheeks. 

_ I’ve never had a friend like Mike. Why is he so special? _

El was about to find out.


	2. Day 11

El was sure about two things before she started reading the letter with the heading “ _ Day 11” _ . One, she had cried reading every single letter, and she still had lots to go. And two…

She really liked Mike.

She took a deep breath and read the next letter to her.

_ El, _

_ Writing these letters is harder than I thought it would be. I miss you every single day. I cried in front of a girl today. She came up to me and asked me where my girlfriend was, the one with the pretty blonde hair. She must have seen us together or something. I didn’t know what to tell her anyway, but I remembered the trusting look you gave me when I put the makeup on you. I lost it and started crying. I’m glad Troy didn’t see me, he would have punched me for sure. _

_ I have a confession to make. You were the first girl I’ve ever kissed. I’ll never forget that. They say you never forget your first kiss. It was nice. _

“It was very sweet Mike, I’ll never forget either.” It wasn’t fair, El could see Mike in the Void anytime she wanted to, but Mike… all he could do was write these letters.

_ This is a short letter El.  _

_ I really miss you, _

_ Your friend Mike. _

  
  


El was almost scared to pick up the next few letters, but she carried on.

  
  
  
  


**29**

  
  


_ El, _

_ Apparently I’m “acting out” in school. I’d like to think of it as standing up for myself and what I believe. But that’s not the way teachers or my parents are seeing it. _

_ It’s been almost a month since you… got trapped? In The Upside Down? If I could find a way to get there I’d rescue you myself, or die trying. _

El had no doubt that Mike would, he’d stepped off a cliff because he thought it would save Dustin. That’s a friend that would die for you. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but it warmed her heart to read that Mike would die for her. That’s something a whole lot more than just “like”.

Sorry for another short letter El, I’m going to stop writing and call you on the Supercomm now.

Miss you…

Mike.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**65**

  
  


_ El, _

_ I can’t believe it’s been three months. It feels like forever. I don’t know how I’m doing it. “Time heals all wounds”? I call bull on that. It’s not healing mine El. I miss you so much my heart hurts. I guess you already know that I like you. I just wish you were here. I wouldn’t won’t yell at you ever again. I promise. _

  
  
  


**74**

  
  
  


_ El, _

  
  


There was nothing written after that. Just a lot of tear stains on the page. El added her own without realizing it.

  
  


**92**

  
  


_ El, _

_ I really don’t have anybody to talk to. Sure Will is back, and he’s my best friend and all, but… he seems different now. He has to go to regular checkups, and get this AT THE LAB. How crazy is that? I heard there’s a new guy running the place now, I guess we’ll see what happens. Lucas and Dustin mostly leave me alone. They have an idea what I’m going through. _

_ Ever since Hopper found Will, he hasn’t done anything to look for you. I stomped into his office one day and asked why he wasn’t looking for you. He gave me the weirdest look. Told me some government bullshit, sounded rehearsed to me. _

“He found me, Mike. I was safe.”

_ I keep to myself these days. I haven’t run a D&D campaign since you’ve been gone. My heart isn’t in it, you know? …it’s… somewhere else. _

_ One thing is for sure, I’ve been going through batteries. My mom asked me who the heck I was calling every night that drained the batteries. My dad gave me some new gizmo that recharges special batteries. I don’t no where he got it, but I think it’s a technology that could really take off. Anyway, they see I’m happier if my Supercomm is working so they don’t bug me as much now. _

_ I really miss you. Have I said that already? (haha). _

_ Um, I like you El. I can write that easily enough, I’m not sure I’ll be able to say it when I call tonight. _

_ Mike. _

“I like you too.” El felt sad. HIs letters were weighing down her heart and she still had a lot to read, but she was determined to finish them all before her dad brought Mike to her.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**137**

  
  


_ El,  _

_ You’d think it would be easier after all this time to write these letters. It’s not. If anything it hurts a little more each day.  _

_ Um, El? I had a girl talk to me today. I got the feeling that she wanted  _ me  _ to ask her out on a date. And I, um, said that I already had a girlfriend. I hope that’s ok? I mean if it’s not, that’s ok too, but I didn’t really want to go out with her. I suppose I shouldn’t be choosy, but I mean, I don’t really like her the way that, um... I like you. _

El smiled, “I’ll be your girlfriend Mike. I don’t like anybody else the way I like you. I hope you like my hair now.”

_ We are almost halfway through summer and it’s sucked so far. I’m not looking forward to school. I never have. I wish you could go with us. I would… I would hold your hand every day El.  _ Every _ day. _

_ Miss you El, _

_ Mike. _

  
  
  
  


**164**

  
  


_ El, _

_ Ugh. School in less than a week. I can’t wait for my first punch from Troy. What a mouthbreather. I was really hoping you’d be back by now, we could all go to school together. We could all help with your homework, The Party is good in all kinds of different subjects. _

_ Will, is getting weirder by the day. I know he’s not happy about his doctor visits. He has “episodes”. We all know it’s Upside Down related. Not sure Doc Owens gets it. _

_ At least school will keep me a little bit occupied. I think about you all the time. I mean  _ all the time _. I think about how pretty your eyes are, the way you smile at me. I think about what it would be like to kiss you again. Uh, sorry El, but that’s what I think about the most. Kissing you again. _

_ If I see you again, I’m going to ask you to be my girlfriend, I really really like you El. I hope you're ok. _

El’s smile went very wide. “Oh, Mike. I really really like you too. I’m ok. I’m more than ok”

Even though Mike was sad when he wrote that letter, El felt good. Yes, there were more letters, but she already knew how the day would end.

_ MIss you El, _

_ Mike. _

“I’m going to kiss you like you’ve never been kissed before Mike. I’m just waiting for my dad to bring home… to me.”

  
  



	3. Day 272

_ El, _

_ This letter is really hard to write today. I’m starting to think that I’m never going to see you again… it hurts to even think it, but I have [unreadable writing here]. I may never see you again. _

El looked at the tear stain that blurred the writing. “Poor Mike.”

_ We talk about you almost every day. Everyone thinks I’m sad, but I’m not. Well, I am a little sad that you aren’t with me, but it’s more than that. I looked it up at the library. I’m depressed. I don’t feel like doing anything. I don’t want to play D&D, it just makes me think of you. I don’t want to hang out at the quarry, it makes me think of you. Same with the junkyard, Eggos, calculator watches, Roary… everything makes me think of you. I liked answering your questions, I feel sad that you didn’t know some of that stuff. I guess the bad men really did a number on you. How could anybody do that to a pretty girl like you? I’m really pissed off at them. _

_ I hope you're ok. I’ve never missed anyone or anything so much in my life as I miss you. If you come back to me El, I promise I’ll never yell at you again. Promise. _

_ I… I love you El. Ok, I won’t say that on the Supercomm, I don’t want the others listening. It felt good to write it down. I just said it out loud a few times. “I love El.” My heart is racing, it felt so good to say it. _

“I love you too, Mike.” El’s quiet tears started again. 

_ I wish I had a picture of you, but I think it might be too hard to look at all the time. I could stare at it for hours.  _

_ I need to talk to you again, so I’ll end this letter, and call you on the Supercomm. _

_ I love you El, _

_ Mike. _

  
  


**Day 323**

  
  


_ El,  _

_ For me, there are always two bad things about the first day of school. The obvious one: it’s the first day of school. I think everyone has that one, but the other is the bullying by Troy. I don’t know what it is about us that he doesn’t like, I mean you sure showed him, but I don’t see this year being any different than last year. _

_ Well, there is actually two extra things this year that are going to make school suck more than usual. You aren’t with me in school. I’d like to see the look on everyone’s face if, you know, you were my girlfriend and we were holding hands all the time. I daydream about that a lot. It makes me smile. _

It made El smile too. 

_ A few weeks ago, we started going to the arcade. I played a few games but it was mainly watching Dustin and Lucas trying to beat each other’s high scores on DigDug. Or trying to see more of Princess Daphne’s skin (she shows a lot!) on a game called Dragon’s Lair. The game costs fifty cents to play, and Dustin usually send up calling it a piece of… well, he swears a lot when he’s playing it. _

_ Anyways, on DigDug, both Lucas and Dustin were, I don’t even know the word, stunned I guess, that someone had beaten their high scores. And not by just a little, by a  _ lot! _ MADMAX was the name they went by. _

_ First day of Mr. Clarke’s class (remember him?) he introduced a new student to our class, her name is Max (Maxine but she said nobody calls her that). She has red hair and an attitude. Lucas or Dustin couldn’t keep their eyes off her. I didn’t think she was all that pretty. Not like you, that’s for sure. She’s all they talked about, all day. I’m sure they want her to be in The Party, but I know it will cause a problem between them if she picks one over the other. If that’s even a possibility. I think she finds the bunch of us annoying. I can see that she doesn’t have any other friends. I know what that’s like so I’m not going to be too hard on her. I wish she’d drop the attitude though. _

El frowned. She didn’t particularly like Max, but then again, she didn’t really know her either. It was obvious now that Mike loved her and not Max.

_ Even with Max, I can’t help thinking we’d all have fun together. You’d be my girlfriend, and Max and, well, I don’t know who she likes if any of the other two. I’m declaring myself off limits if it ever comes up. My heart belongs to you El. I think it did from that first day we found you in the rain. _

El sniffed, “My heart belongs to you Mike.” She looked down at the letter, there were a lot of tear stains. Mike was having such a hard time. “MIke, I love you. I promise myself to you. We will be together forever. I want… I want to fall asleep in your arms. My dad won’t be happy, but that’s just the way it’s going to have to be.”

_ Sorry, El. I was crying. It’s funny I always used to be embarrassed when I cried. But I know I could cry in front of you, and you would just hug me, and tell me everything was ok. I want you to know that you can always cry on my shoulder El. If you’re feeling sad, or something happens that makes you cry. I want to be there for you. Always. _

_ El, I know this sounds weird. I mean, maybe not weirder than the Upside Down, but I feel like we have this connection, that we were  _ meant _ to be together. Is that weird or what? I think that’s why I miss you so much, you are my… what’s that word they use on TV… oh… soulmates. That means that even beyond our physical bodies or minds, we… our souls were meant to be together. I really believe that El. The way I feel about you right now. You are definitely my soulmate. I just hope… I mean… I hope you feel the same way about me too. _

“Soulmates.” El closed her eyes and held Mike’s letter to her heart again. She’d done that with almost every single letter. “Yes, Mike. I feel the same way. We are soulmates. Two people who love each other across time, or dimensions. Even the Upside Down."

_ So that was my first day of school. It’s probably the most interesting thing that’s happened to me since you were gone. _

_ I love you El. I love you, I love you, I love you. _

_ Your soulmate, _

_ Mike. _

El burst into tears. These were so hard to read. She had another thirty, Mike wasn’t here yet, and she was wondering why it was taking so long. She wasn’t worried, she was just very anxious to hug Mike again, to kiss him, to fall asleep in his arms and… even sleep beside him. That sent a little thrill down her spine she couldn’t quite explain, but it was a good feeling.

She wiped her tears. “I cry too much.” 

She laughed at herself and picked up the next letter.


	4. Day  353

_ El, _

_ Well, you can’t see it but I have a big smile on my face. I sat down to write this letter in the blanket fort, but for some reason… it didn’t feel quite right. Like I needed to wait to call you first. I can’t explain it. Anyway, I thought I would call first. I’m glad I did! _

_ The day didn’t start off good. Will is having these “episodes”. Nobody will say anything but we all know it’s related to the Upside Down. Anyway, we all showed up wearing GhostBusters uniforms. With working gear and everything. Of course Dustin went way overboard.  _

_ So we get to the school and  _ nobody _ except us is wearing a Halloween costume. We might as well have been carrying big neon signs that said “I’m a Nerd”. We got our regular teasing, but Troy was nowhere in sight. We got lucky I guess. _

_ You probably didn’t know this but for me Halloween is the best day of the year. I say that now, but I’ve never spent Christmas with anyone other than family. I think Christmas with you would be the best day of the year (big smile here). _

_ I know I sound happy, but today wasn’t a very good day at all. Not until I called you. _

_ Max kind of took over our Halloween night, and then Will had a bad “episode.” I walked him home. He thinks that nobody understands what he’s going through and I guess I really don’t, but I told him that you would. Anyway, I felt really depressed after that and went home to call you. _

_ This is day 353. I miss you so much I can barely stand it. I find myself crying out of nowhere at the worst times possible. I mean, The Party knows why, but my parents are completely oblivious. Nancy kind of knows why but she’s just being nice to me and not saying anything. _

_ So anyways, I’m calling you telling you I had a bad day… and I swear El, I mean, I  _ felt _ you in front of me. I thought I heard you calling my name, I thought I could smell how fresh you are. Oops, I think maybe I forgot to mention that. Um, one morning, when I came down to give you some Eggos, you smelled like, I don’t know, baby powder or something? It was very nice. _

_ You felt sad, El. I’m sorry if you tried to reach me. I didn’t think about it at the time, I just got up and walked away, but the more I think about it now… It was you! I know it was. That means you’re still out there… or down there. I was right not to give up on you.  _

_ You are such a strong girl, El. You deserve a lot better than me. But it’s me that loves you. More than anything in the world. _

There were several tear stains. Mike must have been crying hard when he wrote that. He really loved her! El felt all glowy inside. That must have been why he was so mad at her dad. She’d been hidden away for 353 days. El was sure that soulmates couldn’t be kept apart for too long. The universe would start changing until two soulmates were together again. Maybe that was why it was so easy to close the gate? Is that where her real power came from? Mike’s love? El was sure of it. More sure than anything else right now. Just like Mike was.

_ Please El. Come back to me... Please? _

_ Mike. _

More tear stains. A lot more. Right at this moment El loved Mike so much she thought she would shatter into a million shiny pieces, each one reflecting her love.

“Where is he?” She was starting to fret now. She got out of the sleeping back and started pacing back and forth, holding on to the tear stained letter. She needed to see him. She needed Mike now more than she needed air.

She  _ needed _ him.

She heard a rush to the door, her sobbing had already started before Mike stepped into the basement. 

Mike took one look at El’s tear stained face and he was done. He started crying immediately.

They collapsed against each other in a tight hug. El couldn’t catch her breath at first. Eventually she was able to talk through big gulping breaths.

“I missed you too. I want to be your girlfriend. I love you. We are soulmates.”

Mike held her crying on her shoulder, rocking her from side to side. “I love you I love you I love you.” 

El hugged him tightly. She was never going to let him go. When they parted she said, “Get in your pajamas and get into the blanket fort with me.

  
  
  


  
  


“Your dad will kill us if he knows we are sleeping in the same sleeping bag. I mean _me._ I spent the entire trip here apologizing to him. I think I punched him pretty hard in the stomach at the Byer’s.”

“I told him I was falling asleep in your arms tonight.  _ In _ the blanket fort.  _ In _ the same sleeping bag.”  El giggled.

“That must be where the whole ‘ _ respect my daughter’ _ speech came from. Um… I see you found my letters. Pretty wimpy, huh?”

“Mike… I read all of them. Most of them made me cry.”

“I meant every word I wrote in them.”

“I know. They made me realize that someone out there loved me. Even though we only spent a week together, it was enough. I love you so much Mike I could start crying again just thinking about it.”

“You, um, talk a lot better than you did. Hopper taught you?”

“We had a word of the day and… I was alone a lot. I watched a lot of TV.”

They lay facing each other. El heard Mike sniff, and saw that his tears flowed sideways onto the pillow. “Mike, it’s ok. I promised you wouldn't lose me.”

“I thought for sure that the Mind Flayer would be too much for you to handle. Even though you promised… I thought I’d lost you forever. I don’t think I stopped crying the entire time.”

Mike leaned closer to her head on the pillow and kissed her. “Feels good to kiss you… nobody watching, no worries… no worries right?”

“No worries, Mike.”

“I like that your hair grew in curly. Makes you prettier if that’s even possible.”

“I like that my hair grew in, I’ve never had it longer than you saw before. I won’t do that punk look again Mike. That was a bad chapter in my life. Completely out of place for me. I met my sister, but she was obsessed with revenge. I’m obsessed with my friends. Mike? What’s wrong?”

Mike was crying again. “I'm just so happy to see you El. I really missed you.”

“You never gave up on me Mike. Do you have any idea how that makes a girl feel?”

Mike couldn’t talk and El moved in closer in the sleeping back to give him a long, tight hug.

“I’m a little wimpy tonight El, I mean, not usually  _ this _ wimpy, but wimpier than usual.”

“It’s because we are in love. That will make any boy wimpy, and any girl happy about it.”

“It’s like I can tell you about my true feelings, and you won’t laugh, or make fun of me.”

El hugged Mike tighter. “My dad is not going to like my new rules.”

“Rules?”

El explained to him the cabin rules.

“Those were good rules El. He was keeping you safe.”

“I know that now Mike. I was never in any real danger… only when I was closing the gate. That seems like so long ago, but it’s only been a few hours.”

“Get closer. I want to put my arms around you, you can fall asleep on my shoulder.”

The rustled around a bit and then El said. “This is perfect.”

  
  
  


XXXXX

Hopper looked at Mrs. Wheeler.

El looked back and forth between the two of them.

“I wanted you both in the same room while I explained things to you.”

“I’m not going to like this am I?” Hopper asked his daughter.

“No, probably not. I don’t think Mrs. Wheeler is going to like it either. But it’s going to happen.”

Hopper rolled his eyes and said to Karen, “You’ll be meeting the real Jane Hopper aka Eleven.”

Karen looked slightly confused but took a sip of wine and then set it down.

“Mrs. Wheeler, Mike and my dad…”

Hopper’s eyes already started to mist over.

“...already know that my… um… foster life was not very good.” El took a quick look between her dad and Mike. They understood what she was saying.

“I had to escape. That didn’t stop my… foster parents… from putting a lot of effort into finding me. You’ve already had-” El air quoted “-FBI agents asking you stupid questions with even more stupider facts. Sorry I know that’s not a word, but it’s what I mean.”

“Mike found me. He gave me a safe place and a home. Later, my dad found me and gave me an even safer place and home.”

El looked between Mike and Hopper, and they both nodded their heads.

“Almost a year passed… and… Mike and I fell in love.”

Mrs. Wheeler gave Hopper a look, and he gave a subtle nod.

“Not just love… we are bound as soulmates. Call it Lovebound, Soulbound. Whatever works for you. Ok, this is what you need to wrap you head around. Mike and I will be spending the rest of our lives together.”

She gave Mike a trepidacious look. He nodded and smiled.

“This is the compromise I’ve come up with. I’ve spent a  _ long _ time thinking about this. Mike and I are going to sleep beside each other from now on.”

Karen’s eyes went wide, but Hopper just rolled his eyes.

“No, Mrs. Wheeler, it’s not what you think. Mike is not anywhere near ready for that. So don’t worry. But we  _ need _ to be together. All the time.”

“We spend a week here, and then a week at my dad’s as long as he’s not working at night.”

El looked back and forth between her dad and Mrs. Wheeler.

“Karen,” Hopper said, “I’m totally ok with this.This is way beyond what both of us understand… but it’s real. One of the things I’ve learned in the last year is to not lie, to compromise, and to love my daughter more than my own life.”

Karen turned to El, “If you are making my son happy, then yes. I get the feeling that both of you will be true and not do anything too silly. You both have my blessing with your plans.”

“You  _ do? _ ” El was expecting a lot more resistance.

“Mike has had a terrible year, as his mom, I could see that. Now I know why. If you are making each other happy… I’m overjoyed. You should be too, Jim.”

El started to cry, Mike immediately put his arms around her. “Thanks Mom… Chief. You have no idea what this means to us.”

Hopper nodded, barely keeping his emotions in check. “I just don’t want to lose you.”

El burst out crying, heavier than before. . “Y-You won’t dad… I love you….”

Mike said, “it’s ok now. We are together, we are safe, the world is safe,” he said the latter part in a lower voice, only the Chief and El would have heard it.

“Where tonight? The cabin is cleaned up.” Hopper said.

“I want Mike to see where you kept me safe. The cabin.”

“Ok, but that bed is not big enough for the both of you.”

“We’ll get the sleeping bags.” El said, her dad didn’t have to know that they’d be zipping them together.

Hopper looked at them as they walked to the Blazer hand in hand.

“You know Jim,” Karen said with the wine glass in her hand. “At some point you are going to have to tell me what happened… some of it sounded… dangerous.”

Hopper looked at her.

“At some point.”


End file.
